LEODORA: Highs and lows of March (madness)

Villanova's Ryan Arcidiacono, left, reacts after his team committed a foul during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Seton Hall in the second round of the Big East Conference tournament at Madison Square Garden, Thursday, March 13, 2014 in New York. Seton Hall defeated Villanova 64-63.(AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

BLAME IT on a bit of leftover indigestion from a New York gyro that was consumed during last week’s Big East basketball tournament … but a famous Greek quote keeps running through the mind.

“No excellent soul is exempt from a mixture of madness.” – Aristotle

And, add to that, there is no madness like the March Madness that sweeps across this country each year at the start of the NCAA basketball tournament.

Yes, I know the Super Bowl commands the largest television audience of any single sporting event.

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And I am well aware that NASCAR races are attended by more people than any other sport.

Add the fact that baseball’s World Series has more tradition than all of the other sports combined.

But, when it comes to a three-week period of hysteria, there is nothing like the battle of the brackets … leading up to the NCAA Basketball Championship.

Since the Selection Committee announced the lucky teams that “made the dance” to a national television audience last night, people have been furiously filling out their brackets. Everyone from President Barack Obama to the stylists at the Hair Cuttery will be picking the winners of the games leading up to the grand finale on April 7.

INSTANT ELIMINATION – the formula on which this tournament has thrived – not only creates madness, but it creates a mixture of madness in both extremes.

There are the highest of highs … and the lowest of lows.

Think back on NCAA tournaments through the years and some of the bi-polar moments are certain to come to mind. And if they don’t, or if the mind is already too taxed by all of the bracketology, just sit back and relax. Consider this a nostalgic trip through the peaks and valleys that have marked past NCAA tournaments for Philadelphia’s Big 5 schools.

The Lowest Lows

1961 – The St. Joseph’s Hawks had a talented team that made it to their only Final Four, before losing to Ohio State in the national semifinal. However, their name was removed from the record books due to a gambling scandal involving players. A number of other schools also were implicated – marking a very dark time for college basketball.

1988 – Temple was ranked No. 1 in the country and cruised through three wins in tournament action, before being stunned by Duke in the Regional Final, denying the Hawks and coach John Chaney a trip to the Final Four.

1990 – The La Salle team, led by future NBA players Lionel Simmons (College Player of the Year) and Doug Overton, climbed high in the polls during the regular season, finishing 26-1. The Explorers blew through the MAC playoffs and won their first game before being upset by Clemson in the second round.

1991 – Temple’s brilliant All American Mark Macon played the final game of his career in the Regional Final at the Meadowlands. Despite 31 points in a valiant effort, the Owls fell to North Carolina 75-72. In an emotional post-game interview, Temple coach John Chaney could not hold back the tears when reflecting on his star player.

1995 – Villanova, featuring all-time scoring leader Kerry Kittles, came into the NCAA tournament with high hopes as a No. 3 seed. The Wildcats exited quickly after being stunned by 14th-seed Old Dominion 89-81 in the first round.

2004 – St. Joe’s went through the regular season unbeaten, 27-0, and ranked No. 1 in the country. The Hawks, led by Jameer Nelson and Delante West, won their first three tournament games before being tripped on a buzzer-beater by Oklahoma State’s John Lucas, son of the NBA star with the same name. It denied them a much-anticipated trip to the Final Four.

1969 – The lowest of lows came for La Salle, not in tournament competition, but in the fact that the Explorers were denied the chance to play in NCAA competition. On suspension for a year for previous recruiting violations, arguably the greatest team in Big 5 history ended its season at 23-1. Star players Larry Cannon, Ken Durrett, Bernie Williams, Roland “Fatty” Taylor and Plymouth Whitemarsh High’s Ed Szczesny had to watch NCAA action on television.

The Highest Highs

1981 – A heavy underdog St. Joe team took on top-seeded and No. 2-ranked DePaul in a second round contest. The No. 9-seeded Hawks pulled off a stunning upset, as senior forward John Smith scored at the buzzer to win the game 49-48. Who could forget the scene as head coach Jim Lynam raced around the court at game’s end, looking for someone to hug … and failing. The Hawks recorded another nail-biter victory, 42-41 over Boston College, before being eliminated in the Regional Final by eventual NCAA champion Indiana.

1971 – The Villanova Wildcats -- relying mainly on an iron-man starting five of Howard Porter, Clarence Smith, Hank Siemiontkowski, Tom Inglesby and Chris Ford – faced No. 2-ranked and undefeated Penn in the Regional Final. The Quakers had won the regular season matchup but the Wildcats exacted the ultimate revenge – a shocking 90-47 rout that set the tone for future greatness.

1971 – After reaching the Final Four, Villanova faced a Western Kentucky team that featured 7-foot All American Jim McDaniels. In one of the greatest games in NCAA Tournament history – and before a then-tournament record crowd of 31,428 – the Wildcats won 92-89 in double overtime. They would lose to 7-time NCAA champ UCLA 66-60 in the title game, as the vaunted Bruins had to resort to stall tactics to preserve the win. Villanova was later stripped of its tournament wins when it was learned that Porter had signed a contract with an agent.

1954 – La Salle, led by the legendary Tom Gola, won its only national championship. The Explorers defeated Bradley 92-76 for the title and Gola was named the tournament’s outstanding player. They returned to the title game the following year, falling to a great University of San Francisco team that featured Bill Russell and K.C. Jones, who went on to Boston Celtics fame.

1956 – Temple made its first Final Four appearance, defeating Holy Cross, Connecticut and Canisius before falling to Iowa in the national semifinal game. The Owls featured one of the greatest backcourt tandems in college history – Guy Rodgers and Hal Lear. Lear was named NCAA tournament MVP in ’56.

1958 – Temple returned to the Final Four in Guy Rodgers’ senior year, defeating Maryland and Dartmouth before falling 61-60 to eventual NCAA champion Kentucky. Rodgers was joined on that legendary team by Owl greats Bill “Pickles” Kennedy and Jay Norman.

1979 – Despite a string of great teams in the early ‘70s, Penn made its only trip to the Final Four on the wings of star players Tony Price, Tim Smith and Matt White. The Quakers recorded tournament wins over Iona, North Carolina, Syracuse and St. John’s, before falling to Michigan State and Magic Johnson in the national semifinal game.

2013 – La Salle, a 13th-seed, ended a 21-year drought in NCAA Tournament competition and made it all the way to the Sweet Sixteen. The eye-catching run started with a win in a play-in game over Boise State, then proceeded with victories over Kansas State and Mississippi. The Explorers finally were eliminated by a red-hot Wichita State team.

1985 – The highest of all highs took place in Lexington, Kentucky when Villanova became the lowest-seeded team ever to win an NCAA Championship. The 8th-seeded and unranked Wildcats notched close wins over Dayton, No. 1-seed Michigan, Maryland, No. 2-seed North Carolina and No. 2-seed Memphis State. They then met No. 1-ranked Georgetown, with Patrick Ewing, on April Fool’s Day. The Hoyas featured a stifling defense that held opponents to less than 40 percent shooting all year. Before the game Villanova Coach Rollie Massimino told his team they would have to play a perfect game in order to win. In the greatest shooting performance in NCAA history, the Wildcats went 22-28 from the field (78.6 percent), including a second half where they missed only one shot. The 66-64 win is considered the greatest upset in NCAA history.

In an ironic coincidence to that highest of highs, former Villanova coach Al Severance (1935-1961) died in his hotel room in Lexington on the morning of the championship game. It is just another tale of the highs and lows of the NCAA tournament – a mixture of madness.

By now, the tournament brackets have been set. The scramble to fill out the office pools is under way. And the games start on Thursday. Let the March Madness begin.